It has been 81 years since the last of the Nazi concentration camps were liberated. Today, there are an estimated 200,000 Holocaust survivors left in the world. It’s a novel sight in 2026 to see Holocaust survivors gathering in a loud, packed art gallery opening featuring a DJ, actors, models, influencers, agents and music producers.
But on the walls were photos of those Holocaust survivors, each paired with one of the several of the most notable celebrities in the building. On Feb. 3, an estimated 250 to 300 people filled a gallery on La Brea Avenue in Hancock Park for the opening night of the “Borrowed Spotlight” exhibit.
The show includes photos of 18 Holocaust survivors, ranging in age from 81 to well over 100 years old, posed with celebrities such as Cindy Crawford, Wolf Blitzer, Josh Peck, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Kat Graham, Billy Porter, Chelsea Handler, George Stephanopoulos, Sheryl Sandberg, and Barbara Corcoran.
Television producer Daniella Greenbaum’s opening remarks were nearly drowned out by the noise of the crowd, but they went silent when Greenbaum revealed that 108-year-old Holocaust survivor Risa Igelfeld was in the gallery.
An hour earlier, Igelfeld arrived at the exhibit with her daughter and grandson. She was wearing a bright red sweater that stood out against the gallery’s white walls. With her family members, she steadily moved towards the large black-and-white photo of her with actress Jenna Dewan on the wall. She’s seated on a plush chair with Dewan, in a flower print dress, on her lap. When Igelfeld saw her portrait for the first time, she broke into a wide smile, looked at her daughter and grandson then back to the photograph yet again.
Following the introductory remarks and a brief auction, guests approached Igelfeld one-by-one. Igelfeld gave a firm squeeze of every handshake offered to her. She didn’t say much besides “thank you” but she posed for at least two-dozen photographs. Several remarked that Igelfeld was the oldest person they ever met.
Dewan (Bailey Nune ABC’s “The Rookie” ), the celebrity whose spotlight was “borrowed” to bring awareness to Igelfeld’s story, teared up as she spoke directly to Igelfeld.
“When I met you, Risa, my soul recognized you and we danced,” Dewan said. “I was at Risa’s [108th] birthday party and we danced for the first five minutes. I was blown away. In my heart of hearts, I know what unimaginable darkness you have been through and that you have survived … And yet you offer light to the world. It’s real light, it’s earned light and it’s beautiful light. It changed me. I’m a changed person after this.”
“In my heart of hearts, I know what unimaginable darkness you have been through and that you have survived … And yet you offer light to the world. It’s real light, it’s earned light and it’s beautiful light. It changed me. I’m a changed person after this.” – Jenna Dewan
Yetta Kane, 93, who was photographed with actress and singer Kat Graham holding her hand, received one of the most rousing responses of the night.
“Each and every one of us is God’s soldiers,” Kane said. “We promote love, compassion, unity and people all over the world, especially today.” Wearing a blue sweater that matched the blue of the Israeli flag, she concluded her remarks by shouting, “Am Yisrael Chai.” Kane was only eight years old when the Nazis reached her hometown in what is now Belarus. After her father refused to attend a Nazi-ordered “meeting,” he hid his family and dozens of others in nearby forests. They joined the partisan resistance, moving constantly with little food or shelter. Because of her blond hair and blue eyes, Kane was sent between groups as a courier while German patrols searched the area.
“Borrowed Spotlight” is a project by photographer Bryce Thompson. He is quick to point out that he is not Jewish (his brother and sister are Jewish, after their mother converted in her second marriage). Thompson said he was living at home with his family in Connecticut when the idea for the project began in 2022.
“When there was a rise in antisemitism, I really felt like it was weird for me to consider that someone like my sister could be walking home from work and be attacked just because of her religion,” Thompson told The Journal. He began reaching out to Jewish friends who were vocal on social media to ask what he could do. Survivors were later brought into the project and sourced by the New York team. Early on, Thompson said the concept involved pairing two people together for a few photographs. Still, he said “it felt unnatural” until they had the survivors just tell their story.
The most important thing, he said, was “to capture was firsthand accounts of these stories — a photograph wouldn’t be enough without the voice.”.
He recorded audio and video with every photo shoot. A film is in the works, and a three-minute video plays in a small side room at the gallery, depicting moments between survivors and the celebrities who sat with them, listening to their stories.
During the four years he has been creating “Borrowed Spotlight,” Thompson said there were “countless” unplanned moments that stand out. One he shared with The Journal involved music executive Scooter Braun with (now 103 year-old) survivor Joseph Alexander of Los Angeles.
“While listening to Joe, Scooter sat down on the floor and explained, ‘I’m sorry, that’s how I sit with my grandfather when he speaks.’ So Scooter lowered himself below Joe to show respect, and sat down on the floor. Braun later encouraged Thompson to make a coffee table book component to “Borrowed Spotlight.”
One of the survivor stories that jarred Thompson most was one told by Elizabeth Wilf, 92, to actor David Schwimmer at their shoot in Brooklyn.
Wilf described a family hiding in an attic with a crying baby that they could not quiet. Thompson said the mother left the child behind to save the others.
“That story really shook me, especially as a new parent,” Thompson said.
The last pair to be photographed were actress Selma Blair and Auschwitz survivor Michael Bornstein. Bornstein was only four when he was deported from Poland. In their July 2025 meeting, Bornstein told Blair how his mother “nearly took her own life by touching the electrical fence at Auschwitz, but her fierce determination to survive for her remaining children ultimately overpowered her grief.”
Although there was a photograph of Bornstein arm-in-arm with Blair at the gallery, they do not appear in Thompson’s book of photographs and stories. Blair and Bornstein will be featured in a second planned book. Thompson said sales of the $360 book go to funding future shoots and Holocaust education.
“We have survivors, we have stories to tell, we have lives to put on paper,” Thompson said.
In the exhibit, quotes from survivors are printed between the photos. One, attributed to Kane, reads: “When somebody puts out their hand, you never let it go empty.” But the quote that attracted the most attention was from Wilf, emblazoned in the back corner of the gallery: “My grandchildren are my revenge.”
But the quote that best reflected “Borrowed Spotlight’s” aim was from the
Los Angeles-based 95-year-old sculptor Gabriella Karin: “If you don’t tell your story, people won’t know.”
The “Borrowed Spotlight” exhibition is open Wednesdays through Sundays at 170 S. La Brea Avenue from 11:00 am – 6:00 pm through March 1. For more information, visit https://www.borrowed-spotlight.com/home.
